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Deferred Maintenance

What Is Deferred Maintenance?

Deferred maintenance is the postponement of buildings and equipment upkeep from an entity's normal operating budget cycle due to a lack of funds.

Lack of funding for routine maintenance can cause neglect, allowing minor repair work to evolve into more serious conditions. The problem is further compounded by choices made during austere financial times when routine maintenance is often deferred in order to meet other fiscal requirements. The failure to take care of major repairs and/or restore building components that have reached the end of their useful lives results in a deferred maintenance backlog.

Why Is Addressing Deferred Maintenance Important?

Properly maintained campus facilities reflect the pride of the institution. As a world class institution, the University of Illinois must address basic facility needs in an energy efficient and fiscally responsible manner to continue to attract talented faculty and students.

What Are We Doing to Address Deferred Maintenance?

The University of Illinois has a beautiful campus which includes several historical facilities dating back to the late 1800s and early 1900s. With 40,000 students utilizing more than 500 buildings spanning an area of 7.5 square miles, keeping up with maintenance on all of the campus facilities can be a difficult task. Due to lean years resulting in budget shortfalls, these time-honored facilities have significant deferred maintenance needs.

The Deferred Maintenance program systematically addresses many of these needs, including improved electrical and plumbing systems, ventilation, building envelopes, and interior finishes. Energy conservation projects are also being undertaken to reduce energy costs and provide a more sustainable campus. Life-safety projects are working to create a safer environment in the event of a fire or other emergency. The Instructional Space Improvement Initiative (ISI) also goes hand-in-hand with deferred maintenance.